Armored Belt

ABSTRACT

An armored belt for providing armor protection to a lower torso of a wearer with an armor sheath, soft body armor disposed in the armor sheath, and at least one cinching band section of resiliently extendable material for cinching the armor sheath and the armored belt about the torso of the wearer by an elastic, contractive force of the cinching band section. Plural cinching band sections have proximal ends fixed to the armor sheath, distal ends with fastening mechanisms, and resiliently extendable body portions. Plural cinching band sections can be formed by a cinching band with a central portion fixed to the armor sheath thereby to divide the cinching band into first and second cinching band sections. Fastening portions are disposed on ends of the armor sheath, and a compressible section of the armor sheath and the body armor can be disposed at a mid-portion of the armored sheath.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Provisional Application No. 62/620,463, filed Jan. 22, 2018, which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of personal protection through the use of armored clothing. More particularly, disclosed herein is an armored belt that can be used alone for armored protection or in combination with additional body armor, including armored shirts, armored crests, and other body armor, to provide independent and supplementary protection to the torso of a wearer against firearm, sharp, and other attacks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Within the area of personal and individual protection against attacks with firearms, bladed weapons, and even inflammatory artifacts, great breakthroughs have been developed with the aim of providing clothing intended to be light and comfortable and easy to wear while providing a high level of protection. Perhaps the best known articles of body armor are bulletproof vests.

While bulletproof vests certainly provide added protection to the wearer, such vests often leave gaps in coverage, particularly to the sides of the wearer's torso and in other lower locations on the torso, particularly when the wearer moves and reaches. Moreover, bulletproof vests are commonly characterized as being uncomfortable and heavy. Still further, vests typical to the prior art are normally worn in plain sight, which may not be comforting to observers and may discourage use thereby increasing the danger to the potential wearer.

It is thus recognized that it would be advantageous to provide an article of body armor that can be comfortably worn independently or in supplementary protection to the wearer to minimize or eliminate gaps in protection, particularly to provide lateral protection and protection to lower areas of the torso.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

With an awareness of the foregoing present inventor set forth with an object of providing an article of body armor, particularly an armored belt, that can be worn to minimize or eliminate gaps in protection, such as in relation to the torso of a wearer.

Another basic object of embodiments of the invention is to provide an armored belt that can be worn independently of or supplementary to other articles of body armor, including the Body Armor of copending Application Nos. 15/193,845 and 15/388,144, respectively filed Jun. 27, 2016 and Dec. 22, 2016, both such applications being incorporated herein by reference.

A further object of embodiments of the invention is to provide an armored belt that can be readily applied, removed, and adjusted to achieve a preferred fit.

Still another object of embodiments of the invention is to provide an armored belt that can be worn in a substantially concealed manner.

These and further objects and advantages of the present invention will become obvious not only to one who reviews the present specification and drawings but also to those who have an opportunity to experience an embodiment of the armored belt disclosed herein in use. However, it will be appreciated that, although the accomplishment of each of the foregoing objects in a single embodiment of the invention may be possible and indeed preferred, not all embodiments will seek or need to accomplish each and every potential advantage and function. Nonetheless, all such embodiments should be considered within the scope of the present invention.

In carrying forth one or more of the foregoing objects, an embodiment of the armored belt for providing armor protection to a lower torso of a wearer has an armor sheath with an inner surface, an outer surface, a first end portion, and a second end portion. Body armor is disposed within the armor sheath, and a cinching band section of resiliently extendable material is provided for traversing the armor sheath and cinching the armor sheath and the armored belt about the torso of the wearer by an elastic, contractive force of the cinching band section. The armor sheath could take the form of a body armor envelope formed by one or more layers of resilient panel material.

The cinching band section has a proximal end fixed to the armor sheath, a distal end with a fastening mechanism for being coupled to the armor sheath, and a resiliently extendable body portion. The cinching band section can, for instance, have a proximal end fixed to the outer surface of the armor sheath.

In certain practices of the invention, there can be plural cinching band sections, each with a proximal end fixed to the armor sheath, a distal end with a fastening mechanism, and a resiliently extendable body portion. The cinching band sections could be separate bands themselves, or they could be formed by a cinching band with a central portion fixed to the armor sheath thereby to divide the cinching band into first and second cinching band sections.

As taught herein, the body armor can be soft body armor. The armor could have a designed ballistic protection to at least a predetermined Ballistic Level and stab protection to at least a predetermined Spike Protection or Knife Resistance Level. By way of example and not limitation, the body armor can have a designed ballistic protection to at least Ballistic Level IIA and stab protection at least to Spike Blade Level 1. In particular practices of the invention, the body armor highly-oriented high molecular weight polyolefin fiber material. The body armor can incorporate aramid fiber cloth material.

A first fastening portion can be retained adjacent to the first end portion of the armor sheath, and a second fastening portion can be retained adjacent to the second end portion of the armor sheath. The first and second fastening portions can, for instance, be formed by portions of hook and loop material. The first and second fastening portions can be disposed on the outer surface of the armor sheath. A third fastening portion could be disposed on the inner surface of the armor sheath, such as adjacent to the first end portion of the armor sheath.

According to the invention, the cinching band section can be formed by a cinching band with a portion fixed to the armor sheath. The armor sheath can be considered to have a length from the first end to the second end, and the cinching band can have an unstretched length that is shorter than the length of the armored sheath.

It is further disclosed that the armored belt can have a compressible section constructed to be compressible in length with a compressible formation. The compressible section of the armored belt could be disposed at a mid-portion of the armored sheath so that, when the end portions of the sheath are anteriorly disposed on the wearer, the compressible section will be disposed posteriorly on the wearer. In such embodiments, the body armor retained within the armored sheath can have a compressible section, such as by having a segmented portion of the body armor.

The foregoing discussion broadly outlines certain more important goals and features of the invention to enable a better understanding of the detailed description that follows and to instill a better appreciation of the inventor's contribution to the art. Before any particular embodiment or aspect thereof is explained in detail, it must be made clear that the following details of construction and illustrations of inventive concepts are mere examples of the many possible manifestations of the invention. It will thus be clear that additional features and benefits of the invention will be apparent through a reading of the detailed description of implementations and embodiments, which are without restriction, and by reference to the attached figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the accompanying drawing figures:

FIG. 1 is a view in front elevation of an armored belt according to the invention in an open configuration showing the outer surfaces of the armored belt;

FIG. 2 is a view in rear elevation of the armored belt of FIG. 1 in an open configuration showing the inner surfaces of the armored belt;

FIG. 3 is a view in front elevation of an armored belt as disclosed herein in a fastened configuration;

FIG. 4 is a view in side elevation of an armored belt as disclosed herein in a fastened configuration;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the armored belt in a fastened configuration being worn in conjunction with an armored undershirt;

FIG. 6 is a further perspective view of the armored belt in a fastened configuration again being worn in conjunction with an armored undershirt;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an armored undershirt wearable pursuant to a practice of the invention with the armored belt thereunder;

FIG. 8 is a view in front elevation of an armored undershirt usable in conjunction with the armored belt as disclosed herein;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an armored undershirt usable with the armored belt according to a practice of the invention; and

FIGS. 10 through 18 are views of the armored belt in stages of application to provide armored protection to the torso of a wearer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Armored belts according to the invention disclosed herein are subject to a wide variety of embodiments. However, to ensure that one skilled in the art will be able to understand and, in appropriate cases, practice the present invention, certain preferred embodiments of the broader invention revealed herein are described below and shown in the accompanying drawing figures. Before particular embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it must be made clear that the following details of construction and illustrations of inventive concepts are mere examples of the many possible manifestations of the invention.

Looking more particularly to the drawings, an armored belt according to the invention is indicated generally at 10 in the drawings. There, the armored belt 10 is founded on a main armor sheath 12. The armor sheath 12 comprises an elongate member with first and second ends and an elongate body portion that spans from the first end to the second end. The armor sheath 12 is configured to encircle the lower torso of a wearer. The armor sheath 12 can be considered to have an outer surface that is configured to face away from a user in normal usage, the outer surface seen in FIG. 1 for example. The armor sheath 12 can further be considered to have an inner surface that is configured to face toward the user in normal usage, the inner surface seen in FIG. 2 for example.

The armor sheath 12 has a body armor envelope formed by one or more layers of resilient panel material 17. One or more layers of flexible body armor material 15, commonly referred to as soft body armor, are disposed within the body armor envelope formed by the layer or layers of resilient panel material 17. With that, the resilient panel material 17 has one or more inner layers, which are seen in FIG. 2, that would in use be disposed facing a wearer and one or more outer layers, which are seen in FIG. 1, that would in use be disposed facing away from the wearer. The body armor material 15 is retained or sandwiched between the inner and outer layers.

The body armor material 15 can be chosen, for instance, based on the intended level of attack resistance sought to be provided to the wearer. The body armor material 15 in preferred embodiments comprises one or plural layers of ballistic-resistant and, additionally or alternatively, stab-resistant material. The body armor material 15 will ideally provide ballistic protection to at least a predetermined Ballistic Level and stab protection to at least a predetermined Spike Protection or Knife Resistant Level. By way of example and not limitation, the body armor material 15 could provide ballistic protection to at least Ballistic Level IIA and stab protection at least to Spike Blade Level 1 as each is defined by the United States National Institute of Justice. More preferably in certain practices, the body armor material 15 could provide ballistic protection to at least Ballistic Level IIIA, meaning that it would stop ballistics up to a 44 caliber Magnum, and Spike Blade and knife resistance to at least Level 2 E1, meaning that it would be designed to protect against sharp attacks exacted with 33 Joules or less corresponding to not more than a total mass of 1.9 Kg moving at 5.9 m/s, again with reference to the parameters defined by the United States National Institute of Justice.

Non-limiting examples of such materials include fabrics formed with high strength fibers, including, highly-oriented high molecular weight polyolefin fibers, particularly high modulus polyethylene fibers, aramid fibers, para-aramid fibers, meta-aramid fibers, and polybenzazole fibers, such as polybenzoxazole (PBO) and polybenzothiazole (PBT), polyvinyl alcohol fibers, polyacrylonitrile fibers, liquid crystal copolyester fibers, glass fibers, carbon fibers, or basalt or other mineral fibers, and rigid rod polymer fibers, and mixtures and blends thereof. The body armor material 15 could, for instance, comprise layers of aramid fiber cloth materials, such as the material sold under the registered trademark KEVLAR by E. I. duPont deNemours and Co., Inc. and high molecular weight polyethylene filament materials in a flexible resin matrix, such as the material sold under the trademark SPECTRA SHIELD™ by Allied Signal, Inc. of Morristown, N.J. It will be understood that plural different resistant materials and types of materials for the body armor material 15 and the inner and outer layers of the armor sheath 12 could be employed in combination depending on the goals to be accomplished by the armored belt 10.

It would be possible in practices of the body armor material 15 to include material primarily designed for ballistic resistance, material designed primarily for stab resistance, material designed for both ballistic and stab resistance, multiple layers of different types of material interleaved, plural layers of one type on top of plural layers of another type, or layers otherwise configured and retained. As used herein and except as may be expressly limited by the claims, attack resistant material shall be applied to include ballistic resistant material, stab resistant material, material that demonstrates combined ballistic and stab resistance, and combinations of ballistic and stab resistant material of any type that may now exist or hereafter be developed.

The layers of body armor material 15 are enveloped in the one or more layers of resilient material 17 that form an envelope in which the body armor material 15 is disposed. The resilient material 17 can be an elasticized fabric or any other suitable material. The resilient material can include a breathable, rapidly wicking and drying mesh fabric. The resilient material 17 of the armor sheath 12 forms an armor pocket for retaining panels of body armor material 15. In certain practices of the armored belt 10, the body armor material 15 can be removably and replaceably received into the envelope of layers of resilient material 17. In the illustrated example, the armor sheath 12 has a central, rectangular portion and first and second rounded end portions at the first and second ends of the rectangular portion.

The armor sheath 12 has a first fastening portion 20 disposed on an outer surface of the first end portion thereof and a second fastening portion 22 disposed on an outer surface of the second end portion thereof. Further, a third fastening portion 28 is disposed on the inner surface of the armor sheath 12 adjacent to the first end thereof facing oppositely to the first fastening portion 20. A fastening portion, not shown in this embodiment, can be disposed on the inner surface of the armored sheath 12 adjacent to the second end thereof. The fastening portions 20, 22, and 28 could, by way of example and not limitation, comprise matingly disposed areas of hook and loop material or any other type of fastening material or fastening mechanism that might occur to a person of skill in the art after reviewing this disclosure. Other, non-limiting fastening mechanisms could comprise buttons, zippers, latches, or any other effective fastening mechanism or combination thereof.

Under this construction, the armor sheath 12 can be disposed to form a loop, as shown for instance in FIGS. 3 and 4, by causing the first and second ends of the armor sheath 12 to overlap and causing the two of the fastening portions 20, 22, or 28 to engage one another. The initial circumference of the armor sheath 12 can be varied by adjusting the overlap of the first and second ends of the armor sheath 12.

The armored belt 10 further comprises one or more cinching bands 14. In the depicted embodiment, one cinching band 14 is provided. It is within the scope of the invention for plural cinching bands 14 to be employed. The cinching band 14 or the cinching bands 14 can have multiple cinching band sections 14A, 14B, 14 n. The cinching band 14 is disposed to overlie the outer surface of the armor sheath 12. The cinching band 14 has an elongate body portion with first and second ends. The cinching band 14 is formed from an elastic material.

In the depicted example, where a unitary cinching band 14 is provided, the cinching band 14 has a relaxed or unstretched length that is shorter than the length of the armor sheath 12. The cinching band 14 has a first fastening portion 24 disposed on the inner surface of the cinching band 14 adjacent to a first end thereof and a second fastening portion 26 disposed on the inner surface of the cinching band 14 adjacent to a second end thereof. The fastening portions 24 and 26 could, again by way of example and not limitation, comprise matingly disposed areas of hook and loop material or any other type of fastening material or fastening mechanism that might occur to a person of skill in the art after reviewing this disclosure.

The cinching band 14 has a central portion that is fastened to the armor sheath 12. In this example, the cinching band 14 is fastened, such as by stitching, to the armor sheath 12 through an orthogonally disposed central fastening band 16. The cinching band 14 is thus divided into cinching band sections 14A and 14B comprising portions of the cinching band 14 outboard of the central fastening band 16. The cinching band sections 14A and 14B could be formed from separate bands of material or from a unitary band of material, such as the cinching band 14 fastened at a mid-portion thereof to the armor sheath 12. According to the invention, it would be possible to have just one cinching band section 14A or 14B, or there could be more three or more sections 14A, 14B, 14 n. The sections 14A, 14B 14 n could be formed from separate segments of material or single pieces of material. The sections 14A, 14B 14 n could be partially or completely elastic or potentially adjustable in length.

The cinching band sections 14A and 14B of the cinching band 14 have proximal ends fixed to the armor sheath 12 and body portions and distal ends that are, in this example, not fixed to the armor sheath 12. The distal ends of the cinching band 14 and the cinching band sections 14A and 14B have the fastening portions 24 and 26 retained thereon for permitting selective fastening of the distal ends to the armor sheath 12.

Under this construction, the cinching band sections 14 can be disposed to span a portion of the armor sheath 12 to encircle all or a portion of the armor sheath 12. With the proximal end of each cinching band section 14A and 14B fixed to the armor sheath 12 and the distal ends of the cinching sections 14A and 14B capable of being selectively fastened to the armor sheath 12 and the resilient body portions of the cinching sections 14A and 14B therebetween, the resilient band body portions of the cinching sections 14A and 14B can be stretched and the distal ends of the cinching sections 14A and 14B secured to the armor sheath 12. The elastic, contractive force of the body portions of the cinching sections 14A and 14B thereby cause the underlying portions of the armor sheath 12 to tend to be drawn or cinched to a reduced length. When formed in a ring about a wearer's waist, the overall, armor sheath 12 is thus reduced in effective circumference, which tends to cinch the armor sheath 12 about the waist of the wearer.

By the fastening mechanisms, the distal ends of the cinching sections 14A and 14B can be secured to the outwardly facing surface of the armor sheath 12, such as to the outwardly facing fastening portions 20 and 22 of the armor sheath 12 or elsewhere along the armor sheath 12. Additionally or alternatively, the fastening portions 24 and 26 of the cinching sections 14A and 14B could be secured to one another with the cinching sections 14A and 14B with the cinching sections 14A and 14B in stretched configurations thereby to tend to exert a cinching force on the armor sheath 12 about the waist of the wearer.

In practices of the invention, the cinching band sections 14A and 14B can encircle or substantially encircle the armor sheath 12. In any case, prior to fastening the fastening portions 24 and 26 of the cinching band sections 14A and 14B, the cinching band sections 14A and 14B can be stretched. Where the cinching band sections 14A and 14B encircle the armor sheath 12, the cinching band sections 14A and 14B so stretched can tend to contract to an effective circumference. The effective circumference to which the cinching band sections 14A and 14B seek to contract can be less than the initial circumference of the outer surface of the armor sheath 12. With that, the cinching band sections 14A and 14B will tend to cinch the armor sheath 12 and the armored belt 10 in general around the torso of the wearer. With that, a snug, stable fit of the armored belt 10 can be ensured to provide optimal protection to the wearer.

In one illustrative but not limiting practice of the armored belt 10, the armor sheath 12 can be formed to include layers of resilient material 17 with a width of approximately 20 cm, and the elastic cinching band 14 can have a width of approximately 10 cm. The cinching band 14 is divided into first and second cinching band sections 14A and 14B by fastening, such as by stitching, adhesive, or some other fastening mechanism or combination thereof, through the orthogonally-disposed fastening band 16 and to the armor sheath 12. The armor sheath 12 and the portions thereof to each side of the fastening band 16 have lengths greater than the lengths of the cinching band 14 and the cinching band sections 14A and 14B respectively. The end portions of the armor sheath 12 comprise rounded tips in which the fastening portions 20 and 22 can be seen to be disposed with it being understood that fastening portions could readily extend further along the body of the armor sheath 12. The fastening portion 28 is similarly disposed on the inner surface of the armor sheath 12.

As disclosed herein, the armored belt 10 can be worn independently or with other armored articles. For instance, as shown in FIGS. 5 through 9, a wearer could wear the armored belt 10 in combination with body armor comprising an armored undershirt 100. The armored undershirt 100 could, by way of example and not limitation, be according to the Body Armor taught in copending Application Nos. 15/193,845 and 15/388,144, respectively filed Jun. 27, 2016 and Dec. 22, 2016, which are incorporated herein by reference. The armored belt 10 could be worn over or under one or more other armored articles. The armored belt 10 can be worn in conjunction with any other outer or concealable vest to provide enhanced lateral and lower torso protection. Moreover, the elastic cinching band 14, potentially formed with plural elastic cinching band sections 14A, 14B, 14 n in combination with the armor sheath 12 can, in certain practices, be exploited to retain or incorporate a holster, such as for a hand gun (not shown).

One or more portions of the armored belt 10 can comprise compressible sections constructed to be compressible in length with a compressible formation. For instance, one or more portions of the armor sheath 12 could be compressible, potentially resiliently compressible in effective length. In the embodiment depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2, for example, the posterior portion of the armor sheath 12 and the soft body armor material 15 retained therein is compressible in effective length by having a compressible formation comprising a segmented portion 18 therein. The segmented portion 18 can incorporate, by way of example and not limitation, articulated or otherwise segmented sections of body armor material 15 or sections of body armor material 15 that are otherwise compressible in effective length, such as through one or more compressible formations. The end portions of the armor sheath 12 could likewise be compressible lengthwise thereby to permit further cinching of the armored belt 10 about the waist of the wearer.

The armored belt 10 thus disposed about the torso of a wearer is operative to provide protection against ballistic, sharp, and other attacks on the wearer. Moreover, particularly where the armored belt 10 is cinched about the torso of the wearer, the armored belt 10 can further be operative to decrease trauma, including back trauma, caused by impact to the wearer. The armored belt 10 can be constructed to be comfortable and light. For instance, according to embodiments of the invention, the armored belt 10 can weigh a total of approximately 2.3 kg (5.8 lb). Further details and aspects of embodiments of the armored belt 10 will be appreciated by reference to the drawings.

With combined reference to FIGS. 1 through 4 and additional reference to FIGS. 10 through 18, sequential steps in the application of the armored belt 10 about the waist and torso of a wearer can be perceived. In FIG. 10, the wearer may begin by passing the armor sheath 12 and the cinching band 14 around his or her waist. As in FIGS. 11 and 12, the end portions of the armor sheath 12 can be overlapped and the fastening portions 20, 22, and/or 28 can be engaged. Then, as in FIGS. 13 and 14, the elastic cinching band sections 14A and 14B of the cinching band 14 can be stretched. While the band sections 14A and 14B are stretched, the cinching fastening portions 24 and 26 can be fastened to the armor sheath 12, such as by fastening to the one or more of the fastening portions 20, 22, and/or 28 or elsewhere. As in FIG. 15, the cinching band sections 14A and 14B can then be released whereby the resilience of the band sections 14A and 14B will tend to constrict the band sections 14A and 14B about the armor sheath 12, which in turn causes the armor sheath 12 to tend to constrict about the waist and torso of the wearer. So disposed, the armored belt 10 provides ballistic and stab-resistant protection to the waist and lower torso of the wearer anteriorly, laterally, and posteriorly as in FIGS. 16 through 18.

With certain details and embodiments of the present invention for an armored belt 10 disclosed, it will be appreciated by one skilled in the art that numerous changes and additions could be made thereto without deviating from the spirit or scope of the invention. This is particularly true when one bears in mind that the presently preferred embodiments merely exemplify the broader invention revealed herein. Accordingly, it will be clear that those with major features of the invention in mind could craft embodiments that incorporate those major features while not incorporating all of the features included in the preferred embodiments.

Therefore, the following claims are intended to define the scope of protection to be afforded to the invention. Those claims shall be deemed to include equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention. It must be further noted that a plurality of the following claims may express certain elements as means for performing a specific function, at times without the recital of structure or material. As the law demands, these claims shall be construed to cover not only the corresponding structure and material expressly described in this specification but also all legally cognizable equivalents thereof. 

What is claimed as deserving the protection of Letters Patent:
 1. An armored belt for providing armor protection to a lower torso of a wearer, the armored belt comprising. an armor sheath with an inner surface, an outer surface, a first end portion, and a second end portion; body armor for being disposed in the armor sheath; and a cinching band section of resiliently extendable material for traversing the armor sheath and cinching the armor sheath and the armored belt about the torso of a wearer by an elastic, contractive force of the cinching band section.
 2. The armored belt of claim 1 wherein the cinching band section has a proximal end fixed to the armor sheath, a distal end with a fastening mechanism for being coupled to the armor sheath, and a resiliently extendable body portion.
 3. The armored belt of claim 2 wherein the cinching band section has a proximal end fixed to the outer surface of the armor sheath.
 4. The armored belt of claim 2 wherein there are plural cinching band sections, each cinching band section with a proximal end fixed to the armor sheath, a distal end with a fastening mechanism, and a resiliently extendable body portion.
 5. The armored belt of claim 4 wherein the plural cinching band sections are formed by a cinching band with a central portion fixed to the armor sheath thereby to divide the cinching band into first and second cinching band sections.
 6. The armored belt of claim 1 wherein the armor sheath comprises a body armor envelope formed by one or more layers of resilient panel material and further comprising body armor received in the body armor envelope.
 7. The armored belt of claim 6 wherein the body armor comprises soft body armor.
 8. The armored belt of claim 7 wherein the body armor has a designed ballistic protection to at least a predetermined Ballistic Level and stab protection to at least a predetermined Spike Protection or Knife Resistance Level.
 9. The armored belt of claim 8 wherein the body armor has a designed ballistic protection to at least Ballistic Level IIA and stab protection at least to Spike Blade Level
 1. 10. The armored belt of claim 9 wherein the body armor comprises highly-oriented high molecular weight polyolefin fiber material.
 11. The armored belt of claim 10 wherein the body armor comprises aramid fiber cloth material.
 12. The armored belt of claim 1 further comprising a first fastening portion retained adjacent to the first end portion of the armor sheath and a second fastening portion retained adjacent to the second end portion of the armor sheath.
 13. The armored belt of claim 12 wherein the first and second fastening portions comprise portions of hook and loop material.
 14. The armored belt of claim 12 wherein the first and second fastening portions are disposed on the outer surface of the armor sheath.
 15. The armored belt of claim 14 further comprising a third fastening portion disposed on the inner surface of the armor sheath adjacent to the first end portion of the armor sheath.
 16. The armored belt of claim 1 wherein the cinching band section is formed by a cinching band with a portion fixed to the armor sheath.
 17. The armored belt of claim 16 wherein the armor sheath as a length from the first end portion to the second end portion and wherein the cinching band has an unstretched length that is shorter than the length of the armored sheath.
 18. The armored belt of claim 1 wherein the armored belt has a compressible section constructed to be compressible in length with a compressible formation.
 19. The armored belt of claim 18 wherein the compressible section of the armored belt comprises a mid-portion of the armored sheath.
 20. The armored belt of claim 19 further comprising body armor retained within the armored sheath wherein the body armor has a compressible section.
 21. The armored belt of claim 20 wherein the compressible section of the body armor comprises a segmented portion of the body armor.
 22. An armored belt for providing, armor protection to lower torso of a wearer, the armored belt comprising: an armor sheath with an inner surface, an outer surface, a first end portion, and a second end portion; soft body armor retained in the armor sheath; and a cinching band of resiliently extendable material for traversing the armor sheath and cinching the armor sheath and the armored belt about the torso of a wearer by an elastic, contractive force of the cinching band wherein the cinching band has a distal end with a fastening mechanism for being coupled to the armor sheath.
 23. The armored belt of claim 22 wherein the cinching band has a central portion fixed to the armor sheath to divide the cinching band into first and second cinching band sections, each cinching band section with a proximal end fixed to the armor sheath, a distal end with a fastening mechanism, and a resiliently extendable body portion.
 24. The armored belt of claim 22 further comprising at least one fastening portion retained adjacent to the first end portion of the armor sheath and at least one fastening portion retained adjacent to the second end portion of the armor sheath.
 25. The armored belt of claim 22 wherein the soft body armor and the armor sheath have compressible sections constructed to be compressible in length wherein the body armor has a compressible formation. 